There is a larger and healthier senior population in developed countries than ever. Therefore there is a larger than ever demand for senior citizen travel.

However, not everyone has had the opportunity to accumulate large pensions or savings so very often economy is the key.

There are many ways to travel without spending huge amounts of money. The good thing about being a senior citizen is that there are usually no constraints about when you can travel. You don’t always have to plan months in advance. You can be on the lookout for bargains and go at the drop of a hat.

One way to economise is to do all the booking and planning yourself and you will not be paying someone else to do this and this is where the internet comes into its own. The variety of holidays is huge and the places to visit are unlimited. The two largest expenditures are fares and accommodation.

To save on fares senior citizens can go ‘off peak’. It doesn’t have to be weekend travel so that can easily save quite decent amounts.

The key to huge savings on accommodation is definitely house swapping holidays. So, how does it work and what are the advantages especially for seniors. The concept is simple, you allow someone to come and live in you home and you go and live in theirs. There are loads of internet sites which explain exactly how it works so you will know what is required of your home before you consider letting strangers come and stay and also what you can expect in return.

Safety is always a concern especially as you get older but all ‘house swappers’ have to pay a fee to be on a register for vetting purposes. It is obviously in the interest of the people who run these sites to be as sure as they can that all families registering homes to exchange on their site are genuine.

Once you are happy that the swaps are genuine the benefits are huge. The obvious one is the saving to be made by not having to pay hotel bills. Although this is an important consideration there are so many more benefits.

It is lovely to return to a home rather than a hotel after a busy day sightseeing or any other activity. To be able to lounge around in slippers and dressing gown if you don’t feel like dressing up to eat out is so relaxing.
It doesn’t mean that there will be loads of cooking because there are very few places where you cannot get food delivered or find something quick and easy.

One of the biggest benefits is that you will live as a native of your chosen area. You may get to know neighbours and friends of the people whose home you are living in. It is a lovely idea to get friends to drop in and offer local knowledge, perhaps even an invitation to a meal or barbeque if it is summer.

It is always more interesting to really get to know an area and other cultures.

It has to be one of the best ways for travel and to broaden your mind.